Photo Shoot
by Liari
Summary: AU ONESHOT Naoki helps out Ami with a shoot, and things are discussed.  ...I can't think of anything else to say.  NephXMako


_A/N- And here's the second friendship story! Whoohoo! Have fun, enjoy the read, and please review._

_000_

"Naoki! Hold still!" Ami scolded the focus of her shot as she looked up from behind her camera.

He gave her a long-suffering look from his pose on the bridge. "But Ames, we've been at this for over two hours…can't we take a break?"

Blue eyes startled then softened. "Oh, sorry." Her grin flashed at him in sheepish apology. "Sometimes I forget the time. Didn't mean to push you too hard, stargazer."

He returned her smile with genuine affection while he pushed chestnut strands off his forehead. "Don't worry about it too much, but let's go get some lunch or something, okay?" He pushed away from the edge of the bridge and sauntered over to her as he pulled the white cambric shirt off and made a face. "I know it's supposed to be a romantic theme, but this shirt is just ridiculous, shutterbug. I feel like an idiot. Glad I brought a spare shirt."

Ami chuckled at him as he continued to make faces at the fabric in his hand. "You're meant to look Byronic and suave, silly. A languid poet draped over a bridge as he contemplates the mysteries of life and love." She turned off the camera and let it hang about her neck by the strap as she snagged the case for it. Camera safely put away, she straightened and poked him in the bare chest, amused. "Put your other shirt on before you get us in trouble, Naoki. You'll give people the wrong idea."

His teeth gleamed white as he bared them at her. "But Ami, my love, my light, I cannot keep up this charade any longer!" He scooped her hands into his own dramatically, going down on one knee with a Gallic flare. "How can I hide this desire, nay, this fiery passion that consumes me at the thought of you? Ah!" He flung one hand outwards, then brought it back to his forehead in a mock swoon. "My heart is aching, bleeding for the mere touch of your hand! I do not think I can go on if you do not return this fervor that devours me!" He rained kisses down on her hands and she collapsed in a fit of giggles as she pulled them away.

"Naoki! Ooh, you're gonna be in so much trouble when I tell Mako!" She wagged a finger at him as she grinned from ear to ear. "Besides, you're not my type!"

Naoki lurched to his feet, pretended to reel, and reached out theatrically. "A shot to the heart! I am undone!" With that he staggered another step and then fell down in a horribly melodramatic death pose.

From her spot on the grass Ami just laughed, unable to stop. "Na-o-kiihiihii, stoppit, I-can't-bre-athe!" She clutched her stomach as she bent over her knees, her laughter pealing through the park with gleeful abandon. The perpetrator just grinned at her from his sprawl and leaned up on one elbow.

"But it's so much fun to tease you! Besides, you're one of the only females I know who would never take me seriously." He frowned briefly, brow furrowed with worry for a moment.

Ami sobered immediately at the sight, and raised a brow in concern. "Is something wrong, stargazer?"

He sighed. "Well, I think I may have gotten myself into a bit of a mess…" He gave her a lop-sided smile. "Actually, I kinda wanted to talk to you about it. Shall we head out to lunch?"

She smiled back at him and nodded. "Alright, we'll go as soon as you get a shirt on. I don't want to be the one to tell Mako why if you get sick from being half undressed in this weather."

His quicksilver grin made a triumphant return. "You mean you don't want to parade around with me when I'm unclothed and enjoying this brisk fall breeze?" He leered at her and waggled his eyebrows.

She threw his bag at him, snickering. "Get dressed, idiot!"

"You know, shutterbug, the least you could do is take off your top so that we match and we'll get sick together so you don't have to explain to Mako…"

Her indignant sputter threw him into convulsions as he laughed so hard he got himself tangled hopelessly in the shirt he attempted to pull on. She huffed at him, but she couldn't hold up the façade any longer, and helped him into the shirt before he suffocated himself. "Alright, stargazer, c'mon." She grinned at him as his head popped through the neck. "You're worse than a kid, you know that?"

He grinned back cheekily. "Yeah, but just think of me as practice for when you have one of your own."

She laughed. "What makes you think I'll have children? I don't even have a boyfriend!"

Naoki tilted her chin upwards so that she looked him in the eyes and gave her a gentle smile. "You'll make a great mother someday, Ames."

Ami returned his smile with a fond one of her own, her eyes softening for a brief moment. "Thanks, Naoki." She turned away then, and tugged on his hand. "Now let's go get some lunch; I'm starving!"

000

Once they were seated at a booth in _Sonata, _a chic little Italian place, and their drinks were ordered Naoki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So…I might have a little problem…"

Ami looked at him sardonically over her glass as the waiter handed her the iced tea she asked for. She waited for the effacing staff to set down Naoki's latte and whisk himself off to another table before she said anything. "And that problem would be…?"

He took a sip of his coffee, his brow furrowed with frustration. "Well, I have this student…"

She groaned. "Oh, Naoki…"

He raised a hand in protest. "Hey, now, don't look at me, I didn't think anything of it until last week." He rubbed dejectedly at his temple. "Let me start from the beginning."

Just then the waiter came back, stopping the conversation. After ordering, spinach ravioli for her, a mushroom and pepperoni calzone for him, Naoki returned to the subject. "Ah, anyway, so as you know fall quarter started about a week ago. I'm only teaching three classes right now, so I can put a lot of my focus on them and my students. My intro class has about eighteen students, so we're pretty close knit. Now you know how much I like class participation and activities so that the kids learn by doing, right?" Ami nodded, listening.

"So, with this class I'm able to do a whole bunch, especially since we only meet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and my other two classes are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Well, we've had a couple activities now, and some extra credit." Naoki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I have one student, Naru, who's been the most interested in everything. At first I thought it was just because she loved astronomy, but now I'm starting to wonder… Because she was so interested, I tended to spend a lot of time cultivating her, involving her in the activities as much as possible, things like that."

Ami held up her hand, stopping him. "Wait, Naru? That wouldn't happen to be Naru Osaka, would it?" When Naoki nodded in amazement, she sighed. "She's a friend of Usa's… I don't know her very well, none of the rest of us do, but she's always seemed nice."

He nodded again in agreement. "She is nice, that was never in question. It's just that I already have a wonderful woman in my life and I'm not looking for anyone else, you know? Anyway, as I was saying, during a couple of the activities she tended to get a bit close to me and tended to ask a lot of questions that…didn't always have to do with what we were doing. I brushed it off and didn't think of it much, since most students are curious anyway, and kept being my oblivious, flirty self. However, when I had the extra credit-well, it was a nighttime thing; I wanted a group to observe the fall night sky and contrast and compare it to early spring. I, of course, would be there to help and with diagrams and other aids. Only three students signed up for it, which was alright because I only had five telescopes anyway, and she was one of them."

He paused as the waiter slipped their dishes in front of them, and took a moment to eat a bite of his calzone, savoring the cheesy goodness. "Mm. Good ravioli?"

Ami finished chewing and grinned at him. "Of course, always is. Now, you were saying…?"

He made a face at her. "Yeah yeah, I'm getting to it, shutterbug." He grinned wryly. "Well, while we were out there, she started asking more…personal questions. And kept getting closer. When I say closer, I mean _closer._ As in I could smell her shampoo close." His face fell. "And…I blew it. Instead of calmly telling her I had a girlfriend, I stuttered and pushed her away, then hurried everyone up and practically ran away. I…really hurt her feelings, Ames, and I didn't mean to. She didn't show up to class on Thursday, and I'm worried." He poked at his calzone helplessly. "I'm not sure what to do now."

Ami considered him for a moment, fiddling with her fork. "Okay, I have a couple questions for you."

He spread his hands expressively. "Shoot."

"First question: did you realize any of this before the other night when she got too close?"

Naoki frowned. "No, otherwise I would probably have been able to handle it better, maybe insert a comment about Mako into one of our conversations or something."

She nodded. "Next, did you ever _try_ to give the impression that you were interested in her?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No! Of course not."

"Alright, did you ever talk about your private life in a way that would make her think you were single?"

Naoki scowled at her. "You know I don't talk about my private life with my students. Astronomy, yes, my hobbies related to the stars, yes, but not my private life."

Ami smiled at him. "Then, honestly, stargazer, it's not your fault."

He looked startled. "But…"

She shook her head at him. "Nuh uh, Naoki. She's my age, so she should know better, especially when you weren't actively making it seem as if you were willing to pursue something. Plus, she's your student and you're her teacher. That should've made you off limits anyway. Also, from what I've seen of her, she's pretty smart, and seems pretty together. Now, what you did was stupid and you could've handled it a whole lot better, but when we panic most people get stupid. What I recommend doing is next time you see her take her aside, apologize for the _way_ you rejected her, inform her that you have a girlfriend, let it drop that your girlfriend is a friend of Usagi's, and tell her that you really want to keep seeing her interested in _astronomy_, but not yourself. Then, have Mako bring you lunch one day while you're in class, just to emphasize. That way, she can actually see that you're in a happy relationship, she'll hear the same from Usa, and she'll be able to move on."

She covered his hand where it rested on the table with her own. "Look, stargazer, don't feel guilty for this. Yes, you're a flirt, and yes, you're handsome and know it, but you didn't lead her on purposefully, and you didn't realize you were doing it. Now you know. So, don't do it anymore!" She leaned across the table and flicked his forehead gently. "Got it?"

He smiled at her in relief. "Got it."

She grinned. "Good. Now finish your calzone, 'cause I want a few more shots before we're through."

Naoki groaned. "Aw, man, you mean I have to get frilled up _again?_"

Ami laughed and teased him. "Just be glad I didn't make you wear the full get up! If you're brave enough, ask Kenta about the time he helped me with a game-themed shoot."

His eyes widened and he swallowed the last of his calzone before he choked out a disbelieving, "You didn't…"

Her grin turned wicked as she gestured their waiter over. "Oh yes I did. You know, I'd always said he looked like Sephiroth…"

Naoki thanked his lucky stars that all he had to put up with was frilly shirts. "Remind me to not get on your bad side…who knows what I would end up as!"

She just smiled sweetly and said nothing, trying to look innocent as she nabbed the bill.

Naoki looked at her askance. "It's always the quiet ones you've got to look out for…"

Ami grinned again, and scribbled her name on the receipt hastily before handing it back to the server. "Yeah yeah. Let's get going, stargazer."

He grumbled at her good-naturedly as he left the tip. "Yes, oh paramount photographer of pretty pictures and schemer of dastardly schemes."

She gave him her sweetest smile while they walked out the door. "Aw, you're learning!"

She was laughing so hard at his expression she couldn't dodge, and ended up with a face full of frills. "Totally worth it," she claimed as white fabric draped over her head and obscured her face.

Naoki just grinned, resigned, and slung an arm over her shoulder, plucking the shirt off her. "Whatever, shutterbug." He ruffled her hair, earning himself a derisive _huff_ and withering look, then tapped her nose lightly with the hand that still held the much-maligned shirt. "And…thanks, hun. I feel better now."

She decided to forgive him the hair ruffle but get back at him later for the nose tap, and leaned against him, offering comfort and support. "Anytime, you know that."

His smile was warm. "Yeah. I do."

As they walked off towards the park, Naoki tried to get in one last shot. "Next time we do a photo shoot, though, _I_ get to pick my costume."

Ami's cheeky reply shot down any hope he had. "You can sure try, stargazer!"

_The End_


End file.
